


Holestein

by BurnWithMe, Marzos, PhoenixSyndrome



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 04:05:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5033053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurnWithMe/pseuds/BurnWithMe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marzos/pseuds/Marzos, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixSyndrome/pseuds/PhoenixSyndrome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A loose Holes AU</p>
<p>Laura and Carmilla arrive at Camp Greenlake hating each other, believing that it's the other's fault they're there. Can they reconcile their differences?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holestein

The view from the bus made three things abundantly clear--it was hot, it was dry, and even if she wanted to, there would be no walking out of this place by herself. Honestly, when the idea of going to a camp with the word “Lake” in its title was pitched to her, Laura had thought that there would actually be a lake somewhere nearby. She’d been sitting in her seat, staring out the window for over what had to be one-hundred miles, and there wasn’t a single drop of water to be seen.

Not even some wet dirt.

The bus ride to camp wasn’t even comfortable. Laura could feel every bump, small hole, and rock in the dirt the bus ran over. It  kept her from sleeping after the long, emotionally exhausting few days she’d had. Words kept playing over and over in her head-- “Twenty-two months, Camp Green Lake.” Just the thought made her heart sink down into her stomach, and the back of her eyes felt wet and hot.

"Stay strong," her father had told her. She was strong, as strong as she could be. She was Laura Hollis, the tireless journalist who was dealt the short, soiled end of the stick. She wasn't weak, far from it in fact. No, she was dumbfounded, confused and shocked.  People who did the right thing got medals, not prison.

Against her better judgement, she let herself fantasize about being back home. Where her dad would wrap her up in a warm, comfy blanket and a mug of hot chocolate at the first sign of a bad day. The TV would be turned to Doctor Who or Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her cares would fade away by the time the clock struck five.

It was a hurtful fantasy. Her wristwatch said six, and it would be nearly two years before any of that would be her reality again, and just thinking about it made the gravity of it bare down on her even more. Laura took a deep breath to steel herself, and she sighed slowly--

“Are you gonna cry, buttercup?”

\--and suddenly, she felt a fire rise inside of her. The bane of Laura’s existence as of the Eighth Grade Halloween Dance fiasco, was smirking at her. The smugness of the woman’s tone made something hot burn inside of Laura’s chest. Dark hair that curled lazy just beneath her shoulders. A pale, admittedly-prettily sculpted face that just oozed the smugness her tone was implying. A thinly built but powerful looking young woman, and all before she graduated from high school.

It wasn’t hard--although once you got to know her, it would start to get muddy-- to believe Laura used to be sweet on her, way back when.

“...You haven’t looked at me once since the eighth grade,” said Laura, “and now you’re taunting me after you got me arrested?”

The young woman across the aisle didn’t answer. Her feet were propped up on the wide seat, head tilted back and cap pulled down over her eyes as if she were napping and not pressing anyone’s buttons. Laura could hear her own teeth grinding.

“Carmilla. Carmilla don’t you dare ignore me! You have the gall to--” Laura sucked in a breath through flaring nostrils, “This is going to be on my permanent record, did you know that? You’ve screwed me over before, but now you’ve ruined my life with your--”

“Your life?” Carmilla snapped. She sat straight up, flipping her cap off to glare at Laura, “This was your fault!”

"My fault?" Something bubbled up hotly inside of her chest, and Laura sneered, "I'm not the one who was running a SAT cheating ring! You got yourself into this mess, I was only doing my job."

"You call breaking into someone’s house in the dead of night ‘doing your job’? I’d hate to see what you do when you break the rules, cupcake."

Laura felt her face grow hot, but she tried to hide her humiliation. Her tongue flopped in her mouth as her mind tried to find a good way to come back to that, “You--y-you better not talk to me when we get off this bus!”

“Oh, how hurt I am.” Carmilla said, clutching her heart dramatically. “I do not know what I will ever do without your whiny ass,” She sat back with a snorting scoff and donned her snapback cap again, tilting the brim down over her eyes. Laura huffed and faced the window again.

Some bad blood aside, at least this place wouldn’t be like staying in a real prison. It was a camp--like a summer camp! Except they’d be there for longer than a summer, and if the miles upon miles of holes that now seemed to be dotting the cracked, dusty dirt, rolling out into the horizon, they would be doing backbreaking labor.

Laura gazed out at the hundreds of holes in awe, her small bag of toiletries she’d been allowed to bring with her hugged tight to her chest. When she was finally able to tear her eyes away, she instead focused on the ceiling, and eventually closed her eyes to rest. Until the bus finally came to a sudden stop.

Laura lurched forward, her bag dropping from her lap and onto the ground with a heavy thunk. As she reached down to grab it back off the floor, she heard Carmilla snickering at her, and her ears grew hot again.

“Okay girls, this is where you get off,” the bus driver said. Laura tried to remember--when they got on, Laura thought the driver introduced herself as Donna? Carmilla grabbed her stuff, clearly eager to get off the bus, and swept passed Laura before she could even blink. Laura waited for her to get off before she stood.

“Thanks, Donna,” Laura said, inwardly wincing at the frown the bus driver gave her as she passed. She looked back to apologize, and her foot landed on a phantom step, and she slipped. Before she hit the ground, something caught her elbow, and the she spat out all of her air as something collided with her chest .  

“You almost didn’t make it off the bus. Smooth, Sundance,” She heard Carmilla say, squeezing Laura’s chest tight. She hefted Laura up harshly, not sparing her a second glance as she walked ahead. A few paces later, Carmilla slowed and turned back, “You coming, cupcake?” then she kept going like she hadn’t said a thing at all.

Laura frowned, nose wrinkling slightly. She’d show Carmilla who could survive this camp. She took a deep breath before following her.

It was a long walk from where the bus dropped them off to where the camp actually was, so Laura had time to observe and take in even more of what was to be her “home” for the next two years. As one would expect from a desert, it was absolutely barren. She expected guard towers, people patrolling, something, but there was just an absence of authority of any kind. There wasn’t even barbed wire. Just a lot of holes in neat little rows that Laura and Carmilla walked past.

“This is weird,” Laura finally said. She needed to voice it to someone, even if it had to be Carmilla. “Everything is just kind of here. No one’s keeping anyone here, so why are they just…?”

“What do you expect kids to do? Run away and hike through the desert to escape?”

Laura didn’t answer. They kept walking, and Laura looked up as they passed a large, spacious house. It looked like it belonged in a suburb actually; two stories, white walls on the outside. There was even a mailbox standing just outside the front door, with it’s flag flipped up to the sky. “Is that where we sleep?” Carmilla laughed.

“Are you kidding? We’re going to have tents. The cabin is where my mother sleeps.”

Right. The warden. Laura’s face fell--and Laura’s eye caught a poster on the side of the cabin. There was a large, black and classically decorative V at the top of it, and underneath:

It is 100 miles to civilization. Would you rather be digging holes...or digging your grave?

We’re not required to go after you. Be smart. Stay in camp.

\--A message from Mr. Vordenberg, head of safety patrol and medical

Laura shivered. That was not a good first impression.

“Hey! Hey, new guys!” The shout brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality, and Laura, eager to find something else more pleasant to look at, searched for the source. Up the path stood two redheads, one small and one much taller. The smaller had shortly cut hair, and it stood up as if gelled, but from where she got the gell Laura couldn’t answer. Her face was round, and it was dirty, but it held the brightest smile Laura had seen in several weeks.

The taller--the significantly taller--also had significantly longer hair that apparently had seen better days. It was mottled with mud and dirt, but looked surprisingly neat for being on the head of one subjected to slave labor. Her face was soft, like her shorter counterpart, but it held sharp angles that were difficult to see without a closer look.

Although, upon first glance, anyone could see that both girls desperately needed a shower. As they came closer, even someone not looking could tell.

"That’s Danny," the smaller one said, gesturing to the taller one, "and I'm LaFontaine, my pronouns are they/them, just so you know." Carmilla nodded, unimpressed.

"I’ll be sure to remember! I'm Laura," she replied. Danny nodded, hands in the pockets of her orange uniform. Her smile put Laura at ease; she hadn’t expected such friendly and welcoming attitudes from convicted juveniles. She let her shoulders relax.

“Hey, Laura. Welcome to camp. LaF and I are supposed to show you both around.”

“Save your breath, Xena.” Carmilla said coolly, “I’ve been here a million times.” She moved to brush past Danny, perhaps even bump shoulders with her, but Danny caught her by the arm before she got far.

“Warden’s orders. Unless you’d rather talk to her.”

Carmilla sneered, every dirty look Laura had ever seen pailing to the one she saw her giving Danny now. “Please. I’d rather dive beneath a bus.”

“Then let’s go.” The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. If Laura didn’t know any better, she’d say that there was some previous tension between the two.

They walked around, but there wasn't much to show. The camp was relatively small and the buildings were close together. They had stopped at the mess hall, a small wooden cabin in the middle of camp. Laura had barely enough time to stop walking before she saw another poster with a similar message as the one she had saw earlier.

"What do you think you're doing Miss Lawrence?" a chilling voice said from off to the side. Laura looked, the voice belonged to an old man. He didn't have that warm comforting air that most older men had. He seemed cool and calculating. Laura shuddered, 'This is not going to go well,' she thought.

"Hey, Doctor Vordenberg. LaF and I are showing the new girls around. Warden said we were excused from digging."

"I can see that.” Dr. Vordenberg nodded in understanding before he gaze fell on Carmilla, and it brightened up in a way Laura would describe as ‘creepily gleeful’. “Ah, Miss Karnstein. Back again, this time as a delinquent. I must say, I’m surprised it took so long. You were always quite the troublemaker." Laura couldn't quite place his accent, but it was definitely eastern European. There was a tone to his voice as well that was deep and unsettling. As he spoke, a chill went down Laura’s spine several times.  He nodded his head back toward where they’d came. “Go talk to your mother. She’s been expecting you; it’d be rude to keep her waiting.”

“Ugh, fuck.” Carmilla’s eyes nearly rolled out of her sockets, and she turned on her heel and left without another word. Laura nearly felt offended at not getting an insulting quip goodbye.

Dust trailed behind her, and once she was out of earshot Lafontaine leaned in, "What's her problem?" they asked.

Laura shrugged her shoulders, “She’s just...that way. She’s been that way for a while. Ignore her.”

“Oh,” said LaF, with a dismissive wave of their hand, “We get a lot of her type here actually. They think they can come in here and take over the camp because they have bad attitudes and pretty faces. We’ve got like, three in Tent H alone.”

"Oh...great," Laura said with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't sure how much sass she could handle. She could barely tolerate Carmilla and couldn't imagine more people like her.

“Hey, the doc said she’s been here before. Do you know anything about that?”

Laura did. Bits and pieces, anyway. Carmilla had once confided in her that once every summer, from way back before they were even friends, Carmilla would be sent to camp. What she did there, Laura had no idea. She felt herself hoping it wasn’t digging holes for her mother like the other kids. That couldn’t be; Carmilla was never a delinquent before.

"Lola get out here!" Dr. Vordenberg called into a tent standing a few feet away. It was one of three of the largest tent in the camp. The other two stood beside it, all the same olive green color, plastered with a white square logo emblazoned with a red cross.

Another redhead scurried out of the tent. In passing, Laura wondered if society had some kind of vendetta against redheaded kids.

"Oh!" Lola was pleasantly surprised, and her curls bounced as her shoulders jumped. “The new campers! I expected you much later. I’m Lola Perry,” she held out her hand which Laura shook graciously. "I'm the camp nurse; I’m in here most of the time if you get hurt.”

The firmness of Lola’s grip and the warmth in her smile put Laura at ease for the first time since she stepped off the bus. It was nice, to finally have some friendly people to speak to, and here she thought she’d be trapped in a camp full of cutthroats. How lucky was she to get the nicest welcome wagon the Lake had to offer?

“I am Doctor Vordenberg,as you’ve already heard.” said Dr. Vordenberg. He stuck out his hand as well, ready for a proper introduction. It was wrinkly, covered with wiry white hairs and liver spots. Warily Laura grasped his hand, and it felt uncomfortably soft and warm, like she was squeezing a fleshy bag of sticks. His unkempt nails scratched Laura’s hand as he squeezed. “It’s so great to have another girl around camp! We never get quite enough of them.”

The way he said that sounded far too enthusiastic for Laura’s liking. This man was really giving her the creeps. So much for a nice, wholesome welcome wagon. The moment was completely ruined now.

He finally let go of her hand and flashed  her a yellowish smile. “We hope you enjoy it here, Miss, erm, Hollis was it? Yes, Hollis.”

“Um...thank you, Mr. Vordenberg.” She turned to keep walking. Maybe she was being paranoid. He hadn’t done anything that bad. In fact, everything he said was friendly. He couldn’t help the fact that he was old--

“Oh, Miss Hollis! One more thing.” Laura looked over her shoulder. He still had that yellowish, calculating smile.  “The buzzards are always hungry at this time of the season. And the Lustig Forest swallows all those who try to find their way through its maze. I would hate to lose such a lovely young woman to it. Best to accept that you are stuck here until your term is up. Please tell Miss Karnstein that for me as well.”

“Gee, thanks…” Laura said, looking away and gulping. She tried and failed not to imagine buzzards picking the eyes out of her lifeless corpse. She would be having nightmares tonight.

Definitely a creepy old man. The poster didn’t even do him justice.

“Don’t worry about him,” LaFontaine whispered, taking Laura by the arm and leading her away, “None of us even know why he’s here. His job is mostly just creeping on people. It’s the Warden you got to worry about. And her daughter.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” said Laura, with a sense of knowing, “Carmilla and I’ve known each other since--”

“Carmilla?” Danny laughed shortly, “I mean, she’s bad, but we’re talking about the Warden’s other daughter. She’s a counselor here, too.”

“I didn’t know Carmilla’s sister worked here,” Laura said, frowning. She remembered Carmilla mentioning her a few times. But that was years ago when they still talked.

“Well, she does,” LaFontaine said, “And trust me, you do not want to get on her bad side. Miss Belmonde is a total--”

“--Spreading rumors about me, ladies?”

Laura nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around, and was gobsmacked by the beauty of the woman who was approaching them. She stood tall, with proudly squared shoulders, dark skin, and a sharp, well defined face. Her figure was thin, but strong and intimidating. The woman, although she was medium height, stood in such a way, with her hands clasped behind her straightened back, that made her seem taller than Danny.

Suddenly Laura was self-conscious about her posture, and straightened up her back and rolled her shoulders back. In the back of her mind, she wondered if any of the other counselors would be jumping out of the woodworks today.

"N-not at all, Miss Belmonde," LaF said, standing up straighter, "I was just informing Laura of--"

"No need for excuses, LaFontaine. I just have some information for Miss Hollis and then I'll leave you three to mutter about whatever it was that young kids gossip about these days." Laura gulped, bracing herself for whatever Ms. Belmonde had to tell her.

With practiced ease, Belmonde stated firmly, "You will awake at 6:30 AM. Sharp. You then have 15 minutes to get ready for the day and take a shower if you so please. Then you will go to the mess hall for breakfast where you have 15 minutes to eat. You dig until 12 when you can take a break for lunch and a restroom visit for no longer than 15 minutes. After lunch, you will dig until your hole is finished. Any time after that is yours to do with as you please, but you are not permitted to leave the field until your hole is done," Mattie recited with no emotion. So far, Mattie was not living up to the 'caring big sister' description she had been given when she was still friends with Carmilla.

"Now if you two will show Laura here to Bunk H, I have matters to attend to." Mattie sashayed away, leaving a dust trail in her wake.

"Is she always that..." Laura trailed off, afraid that Mattie somehow possessed some supersonic hearing and would hear her gossiping.

"Oh yeah, and she gets worse," Danny affirmed. She slung an arm around Laura’s shoulders and hugged her close in a very ‘bro’ like fashion. “Come on, Hollis. I’ll show you your bunk.”

* * *

 

By the time they got to Laura's tent Carmilla was already in there unpacking her stuff. In a highly unorthodox and threatening manner, no less. She kept slamming her books down on the floor, and grumbling about something involving ‘obligation’. The floorboards creaked beneath their weight, and Carmilla spun around instantly, almost as if frightened.

Her face softened into a smug sneer, however, once she saw Laura,"So Creampuff finally makes an appearance," she snarked, and tossed another book down. It landed with a startlingly loud thunk on the floor.

"Well, you guys clearly need a talk in private,” said LaF, “See you at dinner, Frosh?” A fight breaking out between campers was probably a normal day for LaF and Danny, so it would make sense that such a tense air didn’t faze them. Laura felt a little confident. Carmilla had never laid a hand on her before, so why should she now? Laura turned to say goodbye, but LaF and Danny had already left.

Laura began to unpack her stuff, muttering under her breath.

“Rough first day, Sundance?” Carmilla drawled. Laura didn’t answer. She kept thinking that she was not ashamed of being upset for being here. She wasn’t ashamed of being scared. Who wouldn’t be in her situation?

But she would never, ever, ever let Carmilla Karnstein see her cry. So she took a breath and said evenly, “It was fine. For being put in jail. For being somewhere I don’t deserve to be--”

“Should have thought of that before you busted me,” Carmilla interrupted, smiling down at her, “If you had just minded your own damn business we wouldn't be in this mess, now would we be?”

Laura threw her bag on the bed so hard that it bounced. “You listen to me, Miss Broody McHorrible,” Laura said, mustering up a tone of authority, “Do not pretend that I deserve to be here. I did not do anything wrong. I was trying to stop a miscarriage of justice--”

“You were trying to play big-shot reporter, Laura Lane. But you’re not. You’re a sixteen year old kid who was bored of writing about football games in her school newspaper and you thought this would be your ‘big break’. Guess what? In real life, Lois Lanes get caught, and they don’t get a slap on the wrist. Consider this a learning experience.” Carmilla laughed and Laura wanted to punch her in the face. 'How dare she act like this?' Laura thought, 'acting all high and mighty when she's the one who was in the wrong.' Laura crossed her arms, breathing heavily out of her nose. This was going to be a long couple of years.

"Yeah well it's not like the movies for you either. You don't get a stern talking to. You don't get suspended for a month. I guess this is a learning experience for the both of us." This time it was Laura's turn to laugh, smirking at the simmering brunette across from her.

"Shut it, Cupcake. You can shove all of your 'social justice' crap up your ass." Carmilla growled, stuffing her hands in her pockets. She threw the rest of her stuff on the bed and stomped towards the door, 'accidentally' bumping into Laura as she passed.

“Wait--where are you going?” Laura asked in a panic, “It’s past curfew, remember, you can’t just--”

Carmilla whipped around, a look of stern warning on her face. Laura froze. “Learn your lesson,” she snapped, jabbing a polished-black finger at Laura, “And leave me alone for once, okay?” Carmilla stormed out of the tent.

Hot tears prickled the back of Laura’s eyes. Furiously, she wiped them away and flopped down on her mattress. It was a shit mattress, of course; hard lump in the mattress pressed into her ribs. She pressed her face into her pillow and began to speak, hoping to achieve some form of self-therapy, "How is this fair? I was doing the right thing...I thought." Tears began to soak the rank pillow. "I tried so hard to do the right thing," Her voice shook, and she realized the self-therapy was only making her feel worse. She sobbed harshly, "That's all I did, the right thing. Why did I end up here?"

A noise at the tent’s entrance made Laura shoot up suddenly, startled. The flap at the tent’s door fluttered back to it’s original position, blocking out the sun’s light. Either the wind had moved it, or a fellow H-Tent resident had come in, seen her crying, and left.

How mortifying. Unfortunately, Laura wasn’t done self-pitying, and she buried her face back into the pillow to resume her crying. In her future, she saw many nights like this. Too many.

She couldn’t live like this.

 


End file.
